Please find below USSMC's Quality Assurance and Control Plan for this contract requirement as specified under.

Microsoft Word - USSMC’s Quality Control.docx

USSMC’S QUALITY CONTROL (QC) PROGRAM PLAN:

In the context of this effort, QC is defined as meeting the Navy and Marine Corps Seaport Enhanced contract requirements and priorities. USSMC’s Quality Management (QM) is the process of producing continuous and measurable improvement in the services that USSMC delivers to the Navy and Marine Corps. Our Quality Management (QM) system ensures that all of our programs, projects, and task activities are broken down into manageable work elements that can be overseen and quality-controlled in accordance with an effort-specific QC Program Management Plan and in compliance with ISO 9001 standards. This Quality Management Plan translates into a QA Plan for the Seaport-e contract based on the integration of industry best practices with recognized quality management guidelines.

Our Quality Control Philosophy: USSMC’s further philosophy is to strive for continual improvement in everything we do. Every employee on our team is responsible for quality and process improvement. Our policy is to work with our employees, customer staff, and other contractor support staff to identify any process deficiencies and eliminate or improve them through our process improvement balance and check procedures. Our process of implementing Quality Management (QM) means being continuously proactive, rather than reactive. We strongly believe that problems must be prevented, not just fixed. Achieving this goal requires us to have a comprehensive understanding of the Navy and Marine Corps, including its mission, operational activities, plans, and strategic goals. We firmly believe having a thorough understanding of our customers allows us to engage in strategic thinking to improve and fine-tune our employee training processes and procedures aimed at quality improvement and superior customer satisfaction.

Measurement Criteria: Our general procedures for quality improvement involve a continuous cycle made up of several steps that will apply to every service and function that our team delivers under the Navy and Marine Corps Seaport Enhanced contract. The criteria we will use to measure our effectiveness in supporting the program requirements include the following:

Define current processes that require review and monitoring

Establish metrics for measuring process performance

Review performance measures

Identify performance shortcomings with the help of those who use the Navy and Marine Corps Seaport-e Contract Vehicle.

Continuously analyze processes to identify potential problem areas that could cause program shortcomings

Make process change improvements

Measure the effect of any changes using established metrics

Repeat the cycle

Metrics Evaluation: The use of performance metrics is essential to our Quality Management (QM) processes and procedures. As part of our quality management planning, we formulate objectives that we codify as quality metrics, which we strive to achieve. It helps us measure our performance standards and gauge the quality of our services to provide the best services possible, as well as identify and effect process improvement within the scope of the Work Breakdown Structure (WBS). The primary metrics that we will use to measure performance are course evaluation metrics and structured feedback regarding training efficacy and course surveys/tests to measure student understanding of the course objectives. Additional metrics may be added later, with Navy and Marine Corps concurrence, to improve understanding of our service effectiveness and to identify further opportunities for quality improvement.

Team Approach: Our team is committed to providing high quality services that anticipates and meets changing requirements that may be levied by our customers, including Project Management and Administrative Services.

Our approach includes:

Sound methodology for providing Project Management for requested contractual task orders for any of the Functional Requirements inclusive of any Administrative Services

Outstanding ability to recognize and respond to unforeseen emerging requirements

Quality Assurance (QA): Our QA processes and procedures ensures that all of our products and services are delivered on time, free of defects, and in the customer- specified format or delivery mode. That means all of our services is thoroughly vetted for defects, before delivery. To accomplish such quality assurance, reliably, and consistently, our team will:

Develop and use an executable plan with defined quality objectives and a project schedule.

Develop and use an executable plan with defined quality objectives and a project schedule.

Assign roles and responsibilities to each of our team members

Schedule review checkpoints at critical junctures in the process.

Ensure that there are quality check sign-offs by a responsible team manager and the program manager, before any of functional areas services delivery are executed.

Provide and maintain continuous customer service feedback forms for both Navy and Marine Corps employees and other stakeholders.

Quality Control (QC): Our QC processes require that we validate our deliverables to ensure they fulfill customer needs. Moreover, they provide the framework to identify and respond to issues on an independent or unbiased basis. QC also ensures that we have procedures in place for management to observe and ensure our products and services are timely, conform with all functional requirement specifications, meet all known Navy and Marine Corps expectations, and comply with the highest industry standards. In short, QC is designed to ensure that our services are performed to the complete satisfaction of our customers and that they meet the intended purposes.

Staff Management: QC Inspections: QC involves the inspection of specific work products for compliance with professional standards and customer specifications. Since our team of professionals are ISO 9001-2000 certified, USSMC is dedicated to the delivery of quality information services that meet or exceed the Seaport-e Task order expectations, are timely, and are provided at a competitive price.

QC for any tasks will also ensure that procedures are followed at the working level and checked at critical quality junctures, so that deficiencies can be identified and corrected before the project moves to the next level, step, or phase. We believe that quality is both an organizational and an individual responsibility.

For any of our training requirements USSMC incorporates QC by including third party Subject Matter Expert (SME) if necessary and customer vetting of all training products, to include training syllabus, support material, and course auditing tools.

QC Objectives: A QC inspection plan will be developed for each deliverable and written into the quality management plan to ensure all QC objectives are achieved. For each deliverable, an inspection form/checklist will be created and become part of that task’s Quality Management System (QMS). In addition, the checklist will be checked off at intervals specified in the plan. Our management team will also verify compliance of QC objectives on an ad-hoc and unannounced basis, paying particular attention to customer satisfaction. All inspection will be monitored and recorded in the Quality Management (QM) Plan Execution Checklist.

Internal and External Audits Quality Management System (QMS): Internal audits of all activities subject to the QMS will be conducted on a quarterly basis for all functional deliverables of the Navy and the Marine Corps program. Any identification of nonconformance practices or procedures will be reported to management.

A Corrective Plan of Action (POA) will be developed, approved, implemented, and verified to ensure compliance with contract specifications. Audit records will be maintained and subject to review by an external auditors. In addition to the above, external audits will be conducted by the corporate USSMC QC authority semi- annually.

Subcontractor Management: QC Inspections: QC involves the inspection of specific work products/tasks orders for compliance with professional standards and customer specifications. We will ensure that our subcontractor follows the same procedures. USSMC flows down to our team partners/subcontractors all contract terms, including but not limited to performance standards and outcome metrics, reporting, personnel requirements, and allowable cost guidelines, to our (LTC) as teaming partner/sub-contractor. We will flow down award fees and incentives so that our partners have the same opportunities and incentives to perform at the highest level. USSMC’s subcontract agreements specify the services the firm or consultant will perform and apply all relevant elements of the prime contract, including the period of performance, reporting requirements, delivery schedule, and performance standards. We also require that our partner maintain appropriate business insurance for any unforeseen liability that occurs on the contract that is no fault of USSMC and is committed by LTC staff. For Seaport-e (Navy and Marine, Joint Agencies) all vendors, consultants and subcontractors are managed directly by PM, agency’s departmental PM, or cognizant IPTL. Contractual oversight is provided by the PM and (for cost/budget issues) concerning each Functional Area. As Seaport-e (Navy and Marine, Joint Agencies) requirements evolve, USSMC may engage additional subcontractors, vendors or consultants to support individual WA and functional responsibilities.

USSMC will negotiate, provide them with non-disclosure and non-circumvention agreements and clearly define written agreements, corporate policies and work assignments as specified by the guiding statement of work document with vendors and consultants and use monitoring processes that follow the same guidelines as for our initial teaming partners. Careful partner selection, clarity in all subcontracts, continuous communications, management through an integrated PMO, and flow- down of contract requirements and incentive structures keeps our full team performing at peak levels. We use a systematic protocol for addressing subcontractor problems that (cannot be resolved to the satisfaction of all parties. This starts with a request for information and a plan for correction. If a resolution cannot be reached and/or performance levels remain unacceptable, USSMC reserves the right to remove individuals or terminate a subcontract or consultant agreement for cause.

Seaport-e Technical Instructions

No Technical instructions have been issued at this time other than the initial award requirements.